Dark passages may sound mysterious, but they're not that rare.

After all, the purpose of its cultivation is for people.

Ivas led Lulu and Sherlock from a short distance from the Pelican Bar into an abandoned warehouse that had previously stored stone and was now covered in dust and rubble.

Coming out of the back door of the warehouse was a slightly desolate and desolate wasteland.

There is no one here. A small stream formed by sewage and stagnant water blocked their progress. The other side of the creek is filled with all kinds of household garbage and bushes, which have faded and rotted after repeated wind and rain.

When Ivas saw it, he breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had found a target, and without hesitation, he crossed the creek and walked towards the garbage bank opposite.

"From here, we will continue to walk forward and climb over this big dirt slope."

“…… I see. ”

Sherlock, who had barely jumped over and didn't get his shoes dirty, whispered after Ivus, "Use the imagery of sewage and garbage that makes people feel 'abandoned' and 'at the end' to make people subconsciously think that there is no road here." Not a very clever method of concealment, but it is enough for ordinary people. ”

"Because it's really not an advanced secret passage, and it's not man-made."

Ivas led the way as he turned back slightly and explained, "It leads to a chemical plant that was abandoned twenty years ago.

"About seven or eight years ago, this dark passage was discovered and occupied by a group of hairy boys in Lloyd's. They are now the 'Sweater Brotherhood', a gang of strangulation parties. ”

“…… Isn't the strangulation party the name of a gang? ”

Lulu, who was carrying her skirt and barely able to follow behind Ewass, asked suspiciously, "I thought it was the biggest gang in Lloyd's." ”

"Not really. It is true that the strangulation party is all gang members, but it does not mean that they have a common gang called the 'strangulation party'. ”

Answering her question was newsboy Sherlock: "All gang members who will carry out murder and robbery by 'strangulation' are called strangulation parties." It is precisely those small gangs that will make money in this way. ”

"And what about the biggest gangs?"

"It must have been Lloyd's. There is only one Lloyd's in Lloyd's. ”

Ivas replied: "The Prince of Lloyd's more than 200 years ago, the 'Lloyd's Society' formed when he was a merchant still survives to this day. It was a large association that sold insurance, loan sharks, ocean intelligence, and business insiders. In a sense, they are the only legal gang in Avalon. ”

“…… Isn't usury illegal? Why are there legitimate loan sharks? ”

"Because they don't charge excess interest on the surface. Instead, they collect interest by selling Lloyd's Weekly News, which is far more affordable than normal people can afford. ”

Speaking of this, Ivas glanced at Lulu helplessly: "My dear." You don't think it's normal to buy a weekly newspaper with five red candlesticks, do you?

"That's a weekly newspaper. This means that most of the news above is old news that has been reported by other newspapers – there is a saying in journalism that 'the morning newspaper is waste paper in the evening'. Although it is a bit extreme...... But in any case, a weekly newspaper should be cheaper than a daily newspaper. ”

The newsboy that Ivas met at the door of the Pelican Bar before was the "newsboy" raised by Lloyd's.

At that time, Haina sensed that Lloyd's prices were not right. But she didn't understand who Lloyd's was selling to. Ivas didn't want to explain it to her.

With her straightforward nature, she still didn't know that this kind of thing would be better.

Haina also thought that the newspapers would be bought by sailors, fishermen and laborers...... Where can they afford to pay for that.

Even if they had, they would only buy meat and beer.

The tired and poor people at the bottom could not afford to buy newspapers, and they would only ask for free news from the bars.

Little Sherlock sighed and whispered to Her Royal Highness the unworldly princess to patiently explain the circles: "Anyone who borrows money from Lloyd's in Lloyd's regularly buys a specified share of Lloyd's Weekly as additional interest. When the lender comes to the house, he will check the number of copies of the newspaper held by the borrower and cut off a corner of the newspaper as acceptance.

"It's the same with the inside information they're selling. Those who are factory owners or directors of companies will order a large number of Lloyd's reports directly from Lloyd's. And the person who delivered the newspaper would bring the message with it.

"They also have a business that investigates a specific target, and they have invited me once. As far as I know, there are private investigators who will accept their employment. When Lloyd's sends the personal information it has investigated, it also uses the Lloyd's weekly report, which sets the quota, to make payments. ”

“…… Is it because newspapers pay taxes? ”

Hearing this, Lulu immediately reacted: "So the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chancellor of Taxation will shelter them?" ”

Although it was the first time she had heard of this method of grey trading through newspapers, she immediately realized how clever it was.

This means that Lloyd's publishes all of its earnings to the Kingdom and actively pays a large amount of protection money.

Since they were paid and not arrested, it means that such behavior is permissible.

It is worthy of the organization cultivated by Prince Lloyd.

Despite the lack of a lot of experience, Princess Isabella's brain is very good.

Moreover, she came into contact with a high intellectual class, so she also developed a good political sense:

"The reason why the 'newspaper' is used to collect money is because Lloyd's shows its respect for the 'authoritarian way', right? Even if they originated from the forces left behind by Prince Lloyd, if they really annoyed the round table hall, they would be in trouble.

"But if you make a loan transaction in the form of selling newspapers, it means that they are taxing 'interest' as a net income...... Because they don't want to offend the Inspectorate, they tend to be more active and stable in paying their taxes than businessmen who are almost certain to evade taxes. ”

Isabella heard the Minister of Taxation complain countless times about not being able to collect taxes.

He has repeatedly asked the Inspectorate to dispatch tax inspectors to companies that may be guilty of tax evasion. Each time he could pull out a horribly long list—longer than Isabella's hair, and the other end hung down on the ground when he held it in his hand.

- Isabella is well aware that if Lloyd's is aggressive, large and stable enough to pay taxes, then they will indeed be sheltered.

The fact that they were able to obtain the distribution rights of the "Glass Steps" already shows the opinion of the round table hall on them.

The newsboy nodded: "Because of this, the Inspectorate will not send someone to take care of them. Coupled with their voluntary efforts to maintain civil order in Lloyd's district, the Inspectorate can only turn a blind eye to them.

"After all, it is a legitimate society that practices in itself and respects the existence of the [authoritarian way] further upstream. In a sense, they are no longer a society, but a large company with unclean means.

"So they're not going to 'strangle' that could lead to an investigation. However, the squeeze on the profit margins of other gangs will lead other associations to continue to choose to send members to 'hanging', 'burglary or theft', 'kidnapping', 'assassination' and other illegal means to obtain funds.

"And this makes them vulnerable to investigation and arrest by the Inspectorate. As a result, the living space of other societies was further compressed. ”

"—and that's not all."

Finally, Iwas, who saw the back door of the abandoned chemical plant from afar, breathed a sigh of relief and added casually: "In fact, after those stranglers attacked and killed passers-by and stole all their belongings, their way of selling the stolen goods was still Lloyd's. Orders for assassination or theft were also issued by Lloyd's.

"That's why I just said that there's only one biggest gang in Lloyd's, and that's Lloyd's."

“…… And what's going on? ”

Hearing this, even Sherlock was taken aback.

But when he thinks about it, it seems reasonable. No matter how legitimate, Lloyd's is a gang with dirty hands rather than a serious industrial company.

But Sherlock was never able to find evidence of their crimes......

Perhaps not just because the evidence was destroyed by the Inspectorate.

Perhaps from the very beginning, there was no such evidence. Because they don't have to do that kind of thing themselves.

Sherlock scrutinized the "fox" dressed as a priest, and for the first time began to wonder about his true identity.

He seemed to be familiar with Lloyd's and knew about the secret passage. Even the secrets of Lloyd's are known......

- Could it be that the "fox" is not a student at school, but a member of a gang? Or is it simply an organization that has gotten into the eyes of the church, or is it an apostate pastor?

Thinking of this, Sherlock asked tentatively, "Mr. Fox...... If I investigate the 'Sweater Brotherhood', will it bother you?

"If I could, I think I'd open the net. As a thank you for helping me in the ceremony. ”

Hearing this, Ivus paused.

He glanced back at the newsboy, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"Since I will say it in front of you, I am not afraid of you to find out. After checking the 'bone carving', let's arrest the Sweater Brotherhood by the way...... This can be regarded as eliminating harm for the people. Don't look at the Sweater Brotherhood as a small organization, everyone will have no less than five lives on their hands.

"According to my grapevine...... They may have a connection to the group behind the Pelican Bar. ”

- Actually, it's not just that.

The reason why Ivus remembered this secret passage was because it was a main quest.

The pre-plot is all forgotten, but Ivus is convinced that the "Brotherhood of Sweaters" must have something to do with the Noble Red Society. Because the members of the Brotherhood of Sweaters who appeared in this dungeon were not only greatly strengthened by the rituals of the Demon Scholar and ramped their minds, but also raised a large number of demon dogs made from corpses.

That copy is pretty disgusting.

Not only is it long and crutches, but it is easy to get lost if you don't know the way. In addition, there are all kinds of garbage, mud, and sewage on the ground, and a large number of demon dogs will ambush around the corner, activate when the first person passes by, and then suddenly rush up and start biting the second person.

Not only are these demon dogs wearing scrap iron armor with sharp edges, and a batch of meat at the same time as high damage, but the hatred is also chain - when they are big, they will start shouting like crazy, and the other dogs on patrol will come when they hear it.

Compared to bosses with uncomplicated mechanics, the mobs in this quest are much more annoying.

Ivas didn't want to play this again. Just thinking about being pounced on and bitten by those half-human-tall man-fed man-fed man-fed mad dogs made his scalp tingle.

It's better to let Sherlock finish them off in advance.

By the way, find something to do for Sherlock, and don't let him stare at the back of the Pelican Bar. Otherwise, "the adult" might think that his letter had fallen into Sherlock's hands, and vigilantly began to destroy the evidence and destroy the mouth.

If "that adult" had destroyed the evidence faster than Aihuas, it would have been difficult for him to investigate.

Although the identity of the "fox" is a mystery, for the suspicious and intelligent Sherlock, the clues provided casually by the fox he met during the dream ritual will be more worthy of investigation than the clues deliberately sent by someone in reality.

Because he will suspect the motives of the latter, trying to reason backwards from a higher level - which cannot be said to be wrong. Ivus was afraid that he would perceive his motives, so he had to "accidentally" stuff information to him through "chance encounters".

- Ivas knew Sherlock, and he was indeed such a person.